We are pleased to announce partnerships with Greater New York City area institutions to expand the presence of Mingus in graduate and undergraduate curriculum! Working with Manhattan School of Music, Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University, City College of New York, retired Chair of Jazz Composition at Berklee College Professor Ken Pullig, Professor Conrad Herwig, saxophonist Alex Foster, and other members of the Mingus Bands, our goal is to broaden the understanding and appreciation for Mingus music through workshops, classes and lectures, as well as encourage young musicians to explore his rich legacy.

Join us to the celebrate the 50th anniversary of these milestone Mingus recordings! At the Caramoor Jazz Festival (Katonah, NY– one hour north of NYC) the Mingus Big Band will revisit the tremendous work of Charles Mingus 50 years ago – in 1963 – when he was in top creative form as a composer, musician, and bandleader. Stuck in the city? Round trip transportation from New York City will be available via the Caramoor Caravan.
For more information, call (914) 232-1252.

Said Mingus himself: “On stage, I could feel the presence of my musicians like they were touching me…. I just wish I could give you that picture, that moment at Monterrey along with the music.”

Patrick Jarenwattananon of NPR says “It’s a monumental example of how a jazz great dedicated his life to his art… We hear humor… We hear protest… A lot happened in and around Charles Mingus’ career around 1964-65… it’s no stretch to say you can hear it all in the music he made then.”

“Mingus’s holiday eggnog was a concoction so delicious and mind-blowing, you would do anything to make sure that you saw him at Christmas. Over the phone once, he gave me the recipe.”
– Janet Coleman

With holidays coming up, we decided to share Charles Mingus’s rapturous, if potentially deadly, recipe for Christmas eggnog. In the interest of simplicity, we offer a slightly more sober rendition than the one provided by Janet Coleman in her book. (If you want the whole run-down, word for word, you can get the original by ordering ”Mingus/Mingus: Two Memoirs” by Janet Coleman & Al Young, on Amazon.)

On second thought, after looking at the dull facts above, am including the original below!
(Janet Coleman just wrote: ”Ha ha — nothing like the ambiguity of the real thing! I don’t think he wanted anyone else to make as good an eggnog as his!”)

THE REAL THING

* Separate one egg for one person. Each person gets an egg.
* Two sugars for each egg, each person.
* One shot of rum, one shot of brandy per person.
* Put all the yolks into one big pan, with some milk.
* That’s where the 151 proof rum goes. Put it in gradually or it’ll burn the eggs,
* OK. The whites are separate and the cream is separate.
* In another pot– depending on how many people– put in one shot of each, rum and brandy. (This is after you whip your whites and your cream.)
* Pour it over the top of the milk and yolks.
* One teaspoon of sugar. Brandy and rum.
* Actually you mix it all together.
* Yes, a lot of nutmeg. Fresh nutmeg. And stir it up.
* You don’t need ice cream unless you’ve got people coming and you need to keep it cold. Vanilla ice cream. You can use eggnog. I use vanilla ice cream.
* Right, taste for flavor. Bourbon? I use Jamaica Rum in there. Jamaican Rums. Or I’ll put rye in it. Scotch. It depends.
See, it depends on how drunk I get while I’m tasting it.